Fourteen people received kidney transplants, while heart surgery was performed on 175 others at Kigali-based King Faisal Hospital in 2023, according to Health Minister, Sabin Nsanzimana.
He made the disclosure on Tuesday, January 23, at the 19th National Dialogue Council Umushyikirano, while speaking during a panel discussion on "Economic Resilience: The potential of traditional and emerging sectors.”
ALSO READ: Rwanda ready for kidney transplants, says Ngamije
Minister Nsanzimana pointed out that there are three categories where Rwandans go to seek remedy abroad, namely kidney treatment especially replacement of a failed kidney [through surgery], heart surgery, and advanced cancer treatment.
These, he estimated, account for about 70 per cent of the factors that make Rwandans seek medical referrals abroad.
Starting from last year [2023], he said, there was a development such that renal transplant service was offered in Rwanda.
On May 26, 2023, Ministry of Health announced that Rwandan surgeons at King Faisal Hospital together with a visiting team of American surgeons successfully performed three living donor kidney transplants – the first to be achieved in Rwanda.
"We did not transfer any person abroad for kidney transplant [in 2023], because about 14 people who needed it received it here in Rwanda,” he said.
"Also, this week, there are four more people who are getting it here at King Faisal Hospital,” he added.
Nsanzimana indicated that the medical experts from the United States of America are training Rwandan medical personnel to acquire the required skills in this medical specialty "in such a way that within three years, we will have Rwandans who can do it,” and even ensure that kidney transplantation is done at other hospitals – apart from King Faisal.
In the last seven years – up to October 2022 – Rwanda sent 67 patients for kidney transplants abroad, where it cost $12,000 (approx. Rwf15 million at the current exchange rates) per patient, totaling to $804,000 (approx. Rwf1 billion), according to data from the Ministry of Health.
ALSO READ: Rwandans to independently handle open heart surgeries
Regarding heart surgery, he said that more than 175 Rwandans – children and adults –received heart surgery at King Faisal Hospital.
For advanced cancer treatment, the minister said that the procurement of a PET scan which is needed for such a medical service was at an advanced stage, as the government was in contact with its manufacturer, expressing hope that it will be shipped into the country in the coming months.
ALSO READ: Relief for cancer patients as Butaro Hospital gets oncology support centre
Nsanzimana said that this is a device that was lacking and was resulting in people going abroad for cancer treatment.
Positron emission tomography (PET) scans detect early signs of cancer, heart disease and brain conditions, according to Cleveland Clinic, a major health facility based in USA, which also indicated that it involves an injection of a safe radioactive tracer that helps detect diseased cells.